1/25/2010

"What Were They Thinking?" Award - 2010 Urban Vita Dolls

Up first is "Inferno." Since when do black circles around the eyes and the fiery orange streaks in the hair qualify as design?

It looks like a child got a hold of a black Sharpie pen and traced around her eyes. The gray shredded thing around her shoulders looks like it came out of a trash bin. The gown is literally ugly. This doll should not have been let out of the gate.

The other offerings of Urban Vita dolls for 2010 aren't much better. I get the overall impression of a confused designer who doesn't know what direction in which to take these dolls.

For example, Aquabella:This doll's face was peeled from a cartoon page. I do like her hair even though it was done with a heavy hand.

Then there's Breeze. She appears to be in a trance-like state with her partially closed lids and requisite toussled white hair. The outfit and the face do not work together. One would think 'angelic' until one sees the silver hot pants and tall boots. Oy.

Finally, Terra, the best of the four but the strange face remains.I'm hoping to be able to actually see and handle one in person at IDEX in a few days.Will you pay $160. for one?

PSThe manufacturer ought to hire a professional photographer while they're at it. The lighting is amateurish and makes the dolls look even worse.

18 comments:

I received an email today from my dealer offering pre-orders on these dolls. I must confess...I laughed out loud! Inferno is surely an attempt to copy the runway type makeup and deconstructed couture of an Avant Guard or Sybarite. A very feeble attempt. Aquabella resembles nothing so much as Sailor Moon, so I suppose she'll have a bright future with the anime crowd, and as for the other two the only thing worse than five minutes ago is five years ago. I am still unconvinced that the vaunted articulation outweighs the overall cheap look of Vita. I don't require a fashion doll to be able to bend over and scratch her own behind. I simply stand her in front of Penny Brite.

I had an Urban Vita Edge. The body on this doll is incredibly poseable and holds a pose well, but the plastic material the body is made of is very cheap IMHO. I debated for a very short moment that I might do a body swap because of the poseability options, but decided that I'd rather have a quality body that doesn't pose as well. I wasn't impressed with the materials that they used for the clothing either. Wasn't worth the money at all. If they could take it up a notch, I think they'd have something.

I think this line fell into the same trap as the the second Somers & Field series. The vintage-inspired fashions are lovely, but the dolls and modern fashions are hung up on old fads, which were dying before the dolls were even designed.

It's a shame, because both companies have a lot tied up in these things.

I enjoy your blog and am SO glad someone pointed out how god awful these dolls are. Like Nicole said, they look like $1 Store dolls with a $160 price tag. I literally laughed out loud when I got a dealer email on these with pricing. I didnt think the 1st collection was bad but nothing I wanted to own. I wanted to believe Horseman would make this doll work, but they have totally polluted the elements here.

I bought the Basic nude Vita because of the poseability. When I got the doll, I just couldn't stand her looks. She DOES NOT fit in with my high end dolls. She's going to post office and off to my 6 year old niece. I think this is a wonderful starter doll for a child!NOT THE ADULT COLLECTOR

Is she worth Horsman's MSRP? Of course not! (Most dolls aren't worth MSRP anyway.)Can the fashions compare with the higher end, more established lines headed by actual fashion gurus? Heck no! (At least I don't think so.)Is her head sculpt artistically captivating? Not really. (It's pretty generic.)But Vita is an acquired taste and if you find a Vita on a good sale, I say go for it. This doll is fun to pose and wears most 1:4 scale doll clothes just fine. She can wear many many Tonner shoes, some Gene shoes, all of Rini's shoes, and even some Franklin Mint shoes. She's more of a retro-doll along the lines of Rini, Gene, Cissy, Monica Merril, and Alex. Vita isn't a doll you fuss over for a few days then stick on a shelf in front of Penny Brite and some Silkstone Babs. She's fun and funky and nostalgic and simple and still more attractive than many of those overpriced resin tranny-like-model dolls. Vita is more "play doll" than gloomy fashion zombie. Vita is for those who like "spunk".

I was thinking I wanted to add a Vita to my doll collection. After reading these comments I have reconsidered. Thanks for the info. I think I will stick with what I have and love. Gene, Fashion doll Agency, and my one Sybarite.

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